Amazon DynamoDB + Firebase Realtime Database Integrations

What is Amazon DynamoDB?

Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database. It provides fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability. It is available on AWS Cloud and it can be accessed via web services interface using Java, .NET, Node.js, PHP or Python programming languages.It is a fast and highly scalable database service for all applications that need consistent, single-digit millisecond latency at any scale.In Amazon DynamoDB, you provision capacity using either provisioned throughput capacity units or provisioned read capacity units. You can optionally choose between the two types of units depending on your application’s throughput and access patterns.Amazon DynamoDB has several features:Data Modeling . A flexible data model for the cloud that supports both attributes and key-value pairs.DynamoDB Streams . A fully managed, low-latency, near real-time event stream service that makes it simple to build real-time applications.Streams can deliver data to other AWS services including Amazon Kinesis, Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), SQS, AWS Lambda, or even another DynamoDB table.Security . Provides role-based access control with granular permissions for every operation on every item in a table.Integration . Works with other AWS services such as Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon CloudTrail, Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift Spectrum, Amazon Elasticsearch Service, and Amazon EMR.Amazon DynamoDB also supports cross-region replication for disaster recovery and reducing latency for globally distributed users. It is built on a highly scaleable and available storage layer that ensures high throughput and low latency at any scale.

What is Firebase Realtime Database?

Firebase is a mobile platform that helps developers build better apps faster by providing ready-made tools and infrastructure in one place. Developers don't have to worry about back-end services, so they can focus on building better user experiences and new engaging features for their users.Firebase was released in October 2014 by Google. Firebase is a real-time cloud database and backend-as-a-service platform that synchronizes data across web, iOS, and Android applications completely in the cloud. It provides several tools for developing mobile apps.Firebase offers several features such as:  Realtime Database. This feature allows developers to store and sync data in real time across users' devices. Firebase Hosting. This feature enables developers to host HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, etc. Firebase Authentication. This feature enables developers to authenticate users through email address/password or third-party authentication providers such as Facebook and Google. Firebase Performance Monitoring. This feature helps developers to understand the performance of their apps and identify issues quickly. Firebase Crash Reporting. This feature helps developers to find and fix crashes in their apps quickly. Crash reports are automatically sent to developers when their apps crash, along with the users' app version details, device information, logcat stack trace and bug report parameters. Firebase Cloud Messaging. This feature helps developers to send messages to their users through Google Cloud Messaging server in real time. Google Play Services. For Android only; it supports the development of location-aware apps with GPS position updates, compass headings, progress bar updates, Google Maps integration, Android 2D/3D drawing APIs, access to sensors such as accelerometer and gyroscope, vibrator support, NFC (Android Beam), Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy. support etc.Firebase includes a comprehensive set of client libraries that integrate its features into other platforms such as iOS Objective C or Swift , Android Java , Unity 3D , Flutter , Angular , React Native , and more. Firebase also includes an open source library called fbjs which facilitates javascript development with Firebase ( https://github.com/firebase/fbjs .

Integration of Amazon DynamoDB and Firebase Realtime Database

The integration between Amazon DynamoDB and Firebase Realtime Database can be achieved by using the following steps. 1. First we need to create an AWS account if we haven't already done so. Then we need to open up the AWS console by visiting https://console.aws.amazon.com/dynamodb/ 2. Next we need to create a new table in DynamoDB by clicking on "Create Table". Enter a name for the table and select the region where you want your table to be created. 3. Click on "Create" button to create a table in DynamoDB. After creating your table you will get the primary key(s. Save these keys because we will need them later on in this tutorial. We will use this keys in the next step – Create a bucket in Firebase 4. Now we need to create a bucket in Firebase Realtime Database by visiting https://firebase.google.com/ , signing up for an account if necessary, then clicking on "Realtime Database" button on the left side bar 5. Next click on "Create new database" button on the right side bar 6. Under "Data Rules" section we need to select “JSON” type from the drop down 7. Then add some information such as Database Name and collation 8. Click on "CREATE DATABASE" button 9. Next we will use these keys ("auth". we obtained from previous step i.e. Step 2 above  in order to add a reference for the Firebase Bucket that we just created 10. Visit https://console.aws.microsoft.com/dynamodb/ 11. Click on the "Tables" button 12. On the right hand side under "PREFIXES", enter your bucket name and click on "Get Table" 13. Select the table you created earlier 14. Copy the "Table key" value 15. Head back to https://firebase.google.com 16. Click on "Database" 17. Click on "Integrate your app with Firebase" 18. Under "Manually configure your SDK " section 19. Click on "Upload JSON file" button 20. Click on "Choose File" button 21. In the Choose File window paste the contents of <key>.json file 22. Click on "Select" button 23. Copy the value inside <key> 24. Head back to https://console.aws.amazon.com/dynamodb  25. Paste the value inside <key> 26. Click on "Set Value" button 27. Click on "Save" button 28. Now let's head back to https://console.aws.microsoft.com/dynamodb 29. Click on "Tables" 30. Scroll down until you see your table 31. Click on "<table name>" 32. Under "Provisioned Throughput Capacity", change "Throughput Units" value from 0 to however many you want to attach 33. Your AWS console should look like something like this . 34. Then click on "Apply Changes" 35. Now head back to https://firebase .google .com 36. You should see your table under "Select a database" 37. Click on your table 38. You should see information similar to this 39. Note down your Firebase URL 40. Now head back to https://console .aws .amazon .com/dynamodb 41 . Now click on "Query" 42 . Paste your Firebase URL here 43 . Select JSON  44 . Paste your JSON here 45 . Click on "Execute Query" 46 . Now you should see results similar to this 47. Now click on "Add Schema" 48 . Paste your JSON schema here 49 . Click on "Create Schema" 50 .   Now you should see results similar to this 51 . Notice how our JSON schema matches our Firebase structure for our data 52 . That's it! Now you know how to integrate Amazon DynamoDB with Firebase 53 . In order to test out this integration head over to this link :  https://docs .aws .amazon .com/dynamodb/latest/developerguide /tutorials -getting -started - dynamodb -with -php .html#getting -started - dynamodb -with -php 54 . Here you should see how you can access your DynamoDB database using PHP code 55 . You can do something similar for any other language that offers a DynamoDB driver 56 . If you have any questions feel free to ask me via comments 57 . Thanks for reading!

The process to integrate Amazon DynamoDB and Firebase Realtime Database may seem complicated and intimidating. This is why Appy Pie Connect has come up with a simple, affordable, and quick solution to help you automate your workflows. Click on the button below to begin.